382 Quotes by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

To gain control over the quality of experience, one needs to learn how to build enjoyment into what happens day in, day out.

Entropy is the normal state of consciousness - a condition that is neither useful nor enjoyable.

It is when we act freely, for the sake of the action itself rather than for ulterior motives, that we learn to become more than what we were.

Happiness does not simply happen to us. It's something that we make happen.

But to change all existence into a flow experience, it is not sufficient to learn merely how to control moment-by-moment states of consciousness. It is also necessary to have an overall context of goals for the events of everyday life to make senseTo create harmony in whatever one does is the last task that the flow theory presents to whose who wish to attain optimal experience; it is a task that involves transforming the entirety of life into a single flow activity, with unified goals that provide constant purpose.

If the firms that employ an increasing majority of the population are driven solely to satisfy the owner's greed at the expense of working conditions, of the stability of the community, and of the health of the environment, chances are that the quality of our lives will be worse than it is now.

One must develop skills that stretch capacities, that make one more than what one is.

It does not seem to be true that work necessarily needs to be unpleasant. It may always have to be hard, or at least harder than doing nothing at all. But there is ample evidence that work can be enjoyable, and that indeed, it is often the most enjoyable part of life.

If a leader demonstrates that his purpose is noble, that the work will enable people to connect with something large - more permanent than their material existence - people will give the best of themselves to the enterprise